Second War of the Ûr Lords
1178-1182 Second War of the Ûr Lords 1178 Ready for War on the West The Land of the Ûr Lords remained in conflict for the entire period of the First War. The other clans still fought one another for control, sport and hatred while the invasion was taking place. When the First War was completed and the refugees from the battles brought back the news of their destruction and the wealth of the enemy’s lands, the remaining Ûr Lords in the Steppes decided to start making plans. Raiding between the Ûr Lords continued for several years, but never with the eradication of a clan group. This was certainly a period of further training for the armies of the Ûr Lords to enable them to drive out the Madur more quickly. Finally, on one dark winter day in 1178, the Ûr Lords drove out of the Steppes with great speed, straight through the Gorgen Gap towards the hills of Thearth. The dwarves of Kharin & Kazden sent out messengers as soon as they saw the horde moving towards the valley and their pact with the Madur Feudal Lords was adhered to. One of the messenger groups from Kharin was discovered by the Ûr Lords on the messenger’s way back from Thearth. The messenger was immediately killed1 and one clan was committed to each of the ancient Towers to keep them from entering into the fray. 1178 The Battle of Bloody Wood When the horde got to Thearth, the feudal lords had assembled a small army and had evacuated almost all of the border villages. Towards the Bryan, lords from Roane, Devnah, Azmunth and Gelden had already formed. Northwest of Thearth, warriors from Rhorden, the Dunns and Glenhome had joined together to form another army. The horde, however, was still massive and they plunged into Thearth again destroying any resistance they found. This drew the Rhorden forces south to try to join up with the Devnah forces. When they were approaching the Thearth border, the horde launched an ambush from woods on either side of the Western forces, wiping out 80% in the first hour of combat. The remainder routed wildly back into the plains of Rhorden where most of them were quickly cut down. 1179 The Northwest Barely Survives The horde immediately turned northwest and began ravaging the dwarves, giants and humans of the Dunns. Many of the refugees from this bloodbath poured south into the hills of Glenhome. The Bond Sylvanicana was again reformed between the Triumvirate and the Dark Elves in hopes of defending Glenhome and to help find refuge for the many homeless who poured out of the north.2 The elves would be vastly outnumbered, so the remaining lords of Gelden & Glenhome pleaded for help from the fiefs south of the Bryan. The dwarves of Ffydd and Coten Mountains crossed immediately into Gelden. The human lords of Angleside, Coten and Dreton sailed along the western coast and set up a beachhead around Almo. Here, the lords transported refugees to the South, and prepared their troops for battle in Glenhome. In the east, the lords of Azmunth, Surrin and Crocia all marched north to the Bryan to help defend Devnah. Meanwhile, the human and dwarven lords of Kastgor and Vendratti began to form a small army of raiders that marched west and would badger the horde for the rest of their stay in the West. The horde continued to pillage and destroy settlements and villages throughout the Dunns and Glenhome, while smaller Western forces conducted a low-scale guerrilla war against the horde, while attempting to build an army near Almo. 1180 The Horde Divides Early in 1180, the de facto leader of the horde, Udgwar Thank-Naag, found out that a Western army was being formed near Almo. It was still acquiring troops and it was less than 1/8 the size of the entire horde. He therefore decided to convince the other Ûr Lords to divide up into two groups. One was to stay here and assault the smaller Western army, and one was to cross Rhorden and continue the pillaging in Thearth and Devnah. Udgwar took command of the assault on Almo and dashed immediately from their position in central Glenhome to the coast. Fortunately for the Western army, the horde was being watched at all times by Elven spies and raiders, and they immediately gave word to the lords in Almo that they were going to be attacked. The lords knew they would be destroyed if caught against the sea, so they began a mass exodus to the Western Isles with only a small screening force left behind to delay the horde. The screening force was almost completely wiped out, but 80% of the troops were able to escape to the islands prior to the arrival of the horde. Jajin Koreh was the leader of the horde heading to Devnah. Although he felt that his army was still much stronger than the Western forces in Devnah, he did not wish to engage them yet. He felt that by continuing to pillage across Thearth and Devnah, he would force the Western forces to attack the horde on his terms. Hundreds of farms and settlements were destroyed over the following months. Thearth, northern Devnah and Roane were mostly in ruin. There were assaults by Western raiders, making a point to harass the horde, but the horde continued along their path of destruction.3 1180 - Houses of Raj Gohn Formed The leader of the Western army in Devnah was the half-elf wizard-warrior, Raj Gohn. He was not only a tremendous warrior in battle, but he was also an incredibly skilled diplomat. To each lord who had forces in Devnah or on the Western Isles, he had sent a personal letter in the language of that lord, driving them through skilled words towards a commitment to drive the invaders out. In addition, Raj Gohn had also contacted the dwarven lords of Kharin & Kazden Dûn to attempt to garner their support as well during the early part of the war. As the devastation of Thearth and Roane continued, Raj Gohn knew that none of this would have been necessary had there been a more dedicated system available for the mustering of armies in case of an attack by the Ûr Lords. As 1180 continued, Raj Gohn called a meeting of the strongest leaders at the armies in Devnah and the Western Isles, as well as the leaders from Kharin & Kazden Dûn. Raj Gohn presented his concept of 4 great houses to act as protectors and ralliers of the various lesser lords across the West. In addition, the 2 great houses of the Khalid-Ka, Kharin & Kazden Dûn, would continue to act as harbingers for any action in the Land of the Ûr Lords that might threaten the West. The 6 houses would not have any governing ability in general over the various lords of their dominion, but instead, they would only act when the civilization itself was threatened. The idea made sense to all of the great lords and so the Houses of Raj Gohn were formed. House Vaddoren was a powerful lord living in the region ranging from the Kreenan Plains to the Marches. They would be in charge of all of the lords in the Southwest. House Caer Ddaden was the strongest High Elven family in the Elven Triumvirate. They would be the authority for the lords of the Northwest. House Thangku’Ur was Raj Gohn’s rival in Roane. Raj Gohn felt that by giving Thangku’Ur this position, a greater peace in the Northeast would be nurtured. House Detmanth was the strongest lord in Smothe near the South and Tcherna Seas. There was much disdain by people of the Smothes towards Crocia even then, and by giving the Smothes visible representation, perhaps there would be greater peace in the Southeast as well. These houses and the great citadels of Kharin and Kazden Dûn would provide the protection for the West for more than 1500 years, until the devastation of the Houses occurred during the Great War of 2963. 1181 Battle of Godmok Hill The hordes continued their devastation of the areas north of the Bryan for the entirety of 1180, causing refugees to pour into the South. Finally it came time for the Western lords to act and force the Ûr Lords into battle. The plan was to bring the Ûr Lords to a point in Roane where they could not escape and finish them off as much as possible. The army in Devnah prepared itself for movement and began moving up the northern tributary of the Bywydeg, deep into Roane. This movement was made very obvious so that the Ûr Lords, who were on the Roane-Devnah border, would know exactly what they were doing. Jajin Koreh decided to attack the Western army right after they landed in the hills along the tributary. The horde therefore began to march into the southern Roane hills in preparation to attack the Western army from the west. Unbeknownst to Jajin Koreh, however, was that the entire army, that had evacuated to the Western Isles, had been sailing along the Bryan and was now landing along the coast west of the horde. When the horde launched their attack, they would be completely surrounded4. At the Battle of Godmok Hill, Jajin and his entire army were slaughtered. There were very heavy losses in the Western armies that would gravely damage their effectiveness for the next several months, but the victory was so overwhelming that not more than 100 of the Ûr horde survived the battle. 1182 Udgwar’s Savagery Udgwar heard of the destruction of Jajin Koreh and the defiance of the Western armies. He also realized that most of the western forces were probably taxed and quite distant from his own. Udgwar therefore began to spread his forces out across the northern plains and hills, as well as taking half of his force south of the Bryan. Every settlement they came upon was destroyed.5 Every field or grove or farm was burned to the ground. The Giant, Elven and Dwarven raiders throughout the far west fought back against the divided pillagers of the horde and slowly began wiping them out. However, the destruction of Udgwar’s forces would still take over a year, after many of the people of West had lost their lives. By the end of the year, the Second War of the Ûr Lords was over. There were still small bands of Ûr warriors hidden in the mountains and forests of the West, but they were no longer organized and could be hunted down over time. Udgwar and a small component of his clan attempted to return to the Steppes, but the dwarves of Kazden Dûn tracked him down and killed him before he crossed Gorgen Gap. Links Chronology of Eirethune Previous, First War of the Ûr Lords Next, Third War of the Ur Lords Notes 1 The messenger’s bones were recovered by the warriors of Kharin Dûn and a shield was made from it. The engravings of the Shield of Kharband Thakuin show the great citadel of Kharin Dûn in great detail. In addition, the shield is said to block any arrow or bolt cast at it, while also permitting the wielder to send some of the arrows back at their opponent. The shield was lost at the Bloodshed of Meisceoireacht in 1295. 2 The Chalice of Lalinorea was a magical container created by an elven mage during the difficult years of 1179-1181. The chalice offered healing nourishment to any who drank from it. It protected people from disease and poison and fear. She made the chalice with her own soul so as people used it, she became weaker and weaker. The chalice is believed to be in the hands of a small band of very secretive high elves who still roam the Deisithe Wood. 3 Jajin Koreh rode a Nightmare which he had received from a bargain with a demon. The Barding ''of Jajin Koreh was fashioned for this steed which gave it a horrible power. As the steed rode across the land, the ground below it would be scorched with black fire. In the flames of the black fire, one could see the faces of those who Jajin had killed in battle. This alone caused many people to flee in fear. When Jajin and his steed were killed at the Battle of Godmok Hill, the barding was captured and taken by one of the lords from the area around the and the . 4 ''The Horn of Borden Krei was blown as the vessels came ashore around Godmok Hill. The Horn was believed to allow the vessels and warriors to float over land and water. The sailing ships therefore did not have to dock or launch shore boats in order to get the army ashore. The boats floating just above the beach and the soldiers could run across the water while the horn was being blown. The Horn was lost, however, somewhere at the battle. 5 Axe of Udgwar Thank-Naag was said to be capable of felling any tree that it came in contact with. It became the most hated weapon of the enchanted forest folk due to its relentless swing against their kind. When Udgwar was tracked down and killed, the axe was returned to the deepest groves of Cellen Wood where it is probably hidden today. Category:Eirethune Category:RPG Category:History Category:Chronology Category:Second Age Category:The Great Survival Category:Wars of the Ur Lords